CNN Poll: Romney on top, Gingrich fading & Santorum rising in Iowa  —  Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Did Newt Gingrich peak too early?  —  A new survey of people likely to attend Iowa's Republican caucuses indicates that the former House speaker's support in the Hawkeye State is plunging.

TRENDING: Gingrich: Campaign worker's signature fraud cost slot on Virginia ballot  —  Algona, Iowa (CNN) - Newt Gingrich cited fraud Wednesday as the reason he didn't get on the Virginia primary ballot.  —  Last week his campaign acknowledged they used paid volunteers to scramble …

Anthony Weiner Wanted Threesome With Another Man, According To Mistress  —  Disgraced former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner was caught in online trysts with numerous women, but RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that according to one of his mistresses, he expressed wanting a threesome - with another man.

Tarzan co-star Cheetah dies at Palm Harbor sanctuary  —  Cheetah the chimpanzee, who acted in classic Tarzan movies in the early 1930s, died of kidney failure Saturday at Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, a sanctuary spokeswoman said.  —  Cheetah was roughly 80 years old …

Repo Men  —  If you're making money on the Wall Street scale — which is nothing like your boring, middle-management in the Fortune 500, Hamptons-and-Mercedes, barely-a-1 percenter type money — then you can buy basically anything.  When real-estate investor Robert Rosania put part …

Sen. Ben Nelson's Retirement Signals Twilight of Blue Dog Democrats  —  Centrist Sen. Ben Nelson's retirement puts the Democrats' Senate majority in jeopardy and could even spell trouble for Obama's reelection.  But the absence of his and other independent voices in Congress is the real danger.

What Moves Republican Crowds in Iowa  —  DES MOINES — The Republican candidates for president are doing a lot of talking in the last week before voting begins.  —  But spending a day observing how the crowds react to the candidates can be just as instructive.

TPM2012  —  Death Penalty For Gays: Ron Paul Courts The Religious Fringe In Iowa  —  Ron Paul has faced a torrent of criticism in recent weeks over newsletters printed in his name during the 1980s and 1990s which contained racist, anti-semitic, and homophobic content.

The Times E-Mails Millions by Mistake to Say Subscriptions Were Canceled  —  Updated The New York Times said it accidentally sent e-mails on Wednesday to more than eight million people who had shared their information with the company, erroneously informing them they had canceled home delivery of the newspaper.

GIRL SCOUTS BOOK REFERS READERS TO LIBERAL GROUP MEDIA MATTERS TO CLEAR UP ‘MEDIA MISINFORMATION’  —  In 2010, the Girl Scouts of the USA published a book called “MEdia.”  The publication, designed for girls in grades six through eight, is a guide that apparently offers insight into how young people …

Wary Hispanic voters favor Obama over GOP rivals  —  President Obama holds a wide lead among Hispanic voters when matched against potential Republican challengers, even as Hispanics grow wary of his administration's stepped-up deportation policies and less supportive of his overall job performance, according to a new poll.

Chavez: U.S. May Be Behind Leaders' Cancer  —  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hinted that the U.S. may be behind a “very strange” bout of cancer affecting several leaders aligned with him in South America.  —  Chavez, speaking a day after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner …

TODAY, December 28, 2011, Mitt Romney Calls Obamacare “Conservative”  —  This isn't a flash back.  This is today.  Mitt Romney is again declaring the foundation of Obamacare, the individual mandate, “conservative.”  —  To be sure, it is conservative that one takes responsibility for their own healthcare.

Exclusive: Iowa GOP Chair Severs Ties With Strong America Now  —  Matt Strawn, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, has disassociated himself from Strong America Now after reports that the group has a Super PAC that is advocating for one specific candidate.

The GOP's Answer to Union Money  —  Achieving parity with the Democrats in campaign spending would be no small feat.  Yet it appears possible.  —  When Steven Law was deputy secretary of labor in the George W. Bush administration, he routinely scrutinized the disclosure forms of labor unions.

Occupy protesters want Romney to release tax returns; he says ‘no’ (includes photos, videos)  —  Des Moines police arrest a protester at a Wells Fargo bank branch Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011.  Protesters also were arrested at Mitt Romney's campaign office in Des Moines.  (Andrea Melendez/The Register)

Jon Swift Memorial Roundup 2011  —  Welcome to a tradition started by the much missed Jon Swift/Al Weisel.  He left behind some excellent satire, but was also a nice guy and a strong supporter of small blogs.  As Lance Mannion puts it: … Here's his 2007 and 2008 editions.  Last year's revival is here.